Everton might well have to offload a fair few players this January to finance any possible incomings through the door, a hefty ten-point deduction handed to the Toffees off the back of alleged FFP breaches has left them languishing in the Premier League drop-zone.

Once aiming for a top-half finish, Sean Dyche's downtrodden side are now just aiming to keep their heads above water with a frantic relegation dog-fight looming.

The Merseysiders will just hope that clubs are equally as desperate in January as the Toffees will be when it comes to bringing in new talents, the Blues keen to gut elements of the squad in order to free up room for fresh blood to come in and help mount a recovery from their current lowly predicament.

Here are three dream potential sales Dyche could sanction to fund a January transfer spree…

1 Andre Gomes

Joining Everton from Barcelona back in 2018 initially on a loan before a permanent deal was secured, Gomes has failed to live up to the early promise he showed in a Toffees shirt over his lengthy current five-year stay.

Riddled with unfortunate injuries throughout his time at Goodison Park – the Portuguese midfielder memorably on the receiving end of a Heung-Min Son tackle which left him with a serious ankle injury in 2019 – Gomes hasn't made a single start for Everton this season even when injury-free.

Everton's number 21 has consistently underwhelmed at full sharpness for his side, Gomes going down as a notable recent Blues flop. Registering one goal and one assist in his first full season with the Toffees, the 30-year-old midfielder has only ever mustered up one more goal and a sub-par six assists since.

Gomes' time at Everton feels as if it should be put out of its misery now, and with the Blues dud earning £112k-per-week, according to Capology, Dyche will want to see the back of the ex-Barcelona midfielder in January to free up space in his squad and to put that money to better use – with Football Insider reporting that a winter exit could be on the cards.

2 Dele Alli

Another player earning a hefty wage at Goodison Park is Dele Alli, the former Tottenham man paid £100k-per-week currently, according to Capology.

This means he's Everton's fourth-highest earner at this point in time, despite not playing a Premier League game since August last year for the club – having spoken candidly and openly about his mental health struggles in recent years.

Alli hasn't contributed to a single goal when on the pitch for Everton during his turbulent stay with the Toffees, 13 forgettable matches for the ex-England international.

It would prove to be a hard sale to move on Alli from Merseyside, but there could be a possible club out there that wants to gamble on the 27-year-old purely for his past exploits at Spurs.

At the peak of his powers, Alli was a top talent in the Premier League from attacking midfield – breathtaking to witness, managing 18 goals during the 2016-17 season at White Hart Lane under Mauricio Pochettino.

Perhaps he can rediscover that undoubted talent with a fresh start elsewhere.

3 Ben Godfrey

Ben Godfrey's time at Everton also looks as if it'll come to an end soon, the ex-Norwich City centre-back falling down the pecking order at Goodison Park with the emergence of Jarrad Branthwaite in the first-team and the experienced James Tarkowski joining the club.

The 25-year-old – who was dubbed "disastrous" last season by talkSPORT's Stuart Pearce for his performance at Old Trafford – has only been afforded eight minutes of game time all season in the Premier League, substituted on in early September away at Sheffield United for a run-out.

He was given a full 90-minute test against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup however, but failed to make an impression on the night – not been seen at all since in action, rooted to the bench in Everton's last ten games.

The Toffees will hope an EFL club comes in for Godfrey in this upcoming January transfer window – although there has also been shock interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United – with the £20m signing potentially sacrificed for a January spree.